Typewriting machine



Sept. 6, 1932. E HELMQND 1,876,227

TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed April 14, 1930 v M 3 FIG.5. 40

INVENTOH= MQW ATTOR Y.

Patented Sept. 6, 1932 WARE Application filed April 14,

. This invention relates to the line-locking mechanism of typewriting machines, whereby the t q3e l e3 s are locked at the conclns1on of each line of writing, and is in the nature of an improvement which is disclosed in the patent granted to me September 12, 1922,-No. 1,428,886.

. In said patent and alsoin prior patents, upwardly-extending hooks are provided on the key-levers to catch over transverse looking bar, which is in the form ofa rod that 1sv mounted upon arms which rise from a rock shaft, the latter being journaled in the frame work of the typewriter. The locking rod being weak, it is supported by an arm provided with a support'which extends up from a midway position on the rock-shaft.

Some of the objects of the present inven tion are to simplifyv and reduce the cost of the described locking rod-member and at the same time to compact the mechanism, pan. ticularly with a view toafiording space in the machine for other mechanisms, especially where it is desired to place the other mech-' anisms right ov-erthe key-levers.

These other mechanisms may include part of the decimal-tabulating mechanism. The tabulating keys may be placed to form the top row of keys in thekeyboard, so that their respective. key-levers extend rearwardly just above the regular type-bar key-levers.

In place of present invention constructs the locking member of a single piece of metal, and, for

g the desired compactness and other advantages, the novel device is made of a strip of sheet-metal which extends across the machine under the key-levers, and is bent up at its ends to form arms which hang upon pivots 1 or gudgeons extending inwardly from the side walls of the base of the typewriter. The required stiffness is secured by bending up a flange along the strip between its side arms.

In said'patent the base rock-shaft is provid'ed with a fourth arm which is engaged by a carriage-controlled vibrator that extends down from the carriage-track, and said. fonrth arm operates the rock-shaft. According to the'presentinvention, the fourth arm is omitted and said downwardly-reaching upon the mechanism the described five-pieces, the

"WILLLAM r. HELMOND, or wear HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, assrenon TO UNDER- woon ELLIOTT 'rr'snnn COMPANY, or new YORK, N. Y., A conrona'rron or DELA- ryrnwnrrrne MACHINE.

1930. Serial No. 444.,e05.

arm from the carriage directly engages. one of the bail arms to lock the bail and lock the keys. A. single piece of metal is made to do the work which formerly required ten separate pieces assembled together. Compact ness is assured and the locking bar extends. 7 under the key-levers and close thereto, while the space above thekey-lcve-rs is cleared. The locking bar is also rendered more accessible and more easily removed from and attached to the machine. v

The gudg-eons are mounted upon the ma? chine-frame, each bymeans of a single screw for easy attachment and removal. For reasons which will be presentlyexplained the" bail is bodily shiftable endwise and is kept in normal position by a returning spring? This bail, however, may be given an extra movement away from normal position, so that at one time its arm will drop off from its ful-- crum, whereupon the other arm may be withdrawn from the other fulcrum or gudgeon, and the ball removed from the machine Wit-l1- out unscrewing any part; whereas in the structure disclosed in said patent, the locking member cannot be removed without first taking the same apart, as the transverse locking bar extends above the key-levers, while the rock-shaft extends below the -key-levers and are connected by the side arms. V

In the present invention the 'locking'memher with its appurtenances forms a unit. The lockingmember with its mounting gudgeons and brackets forms a device which can be manufactured and applied as a unitto the machine, or it can be sold as a unit. for shipment to branches for ready application to any machine by a mechanic.

The arm which reaches down from the carriage-track is provided with. a trip which strikes a'bell-ringing arm; This trip also strikes a flap or lug provided ing bail-arm and makes the typewriter-carriage swing the bail beneath the tongues which extend down 'frointhe key-levers,

thereby locking the keys.

There is provided a release key, preferably at the right-hand side of the machine, which is mounted upon the machine somewhat sim'ig larto an ordinary-type-lever and guided in upon the lockthe same front comb. Depression of this release lever causes it to engage a camming tongue that projects up from the transverse locking bar. Said bar is thereby camined to the right sufliciently to release the locking hail from the carriage-driven trip. Upon thus being released, the bail is swung backwardly out from under the key-lever tongues, this return motion being effected by the spring already mentioned. Said spring also shifts the bail to the left to normal position with said tongue being behind the carriageoperated trip. As the car'iageprogresses, said trip is swung rearwardly to normal position and is so pivoted that it will pass over the top of the aforesaid bail-tongue and resume the position behind the same ready for final key-locking operation after the typing of the final letter on the line, at which time the carriage is also looked. Said trip is also used for tripping the belt hammer, and thus it will be seen that the entire bail mechanism affords no more than one moving part in addition to the release key which is only another moving part. In other words, if the single bail were removed, it would be necessary to preserve all of the remaining mechanism in order to ring the bell. Thus it will be seen that the entire key-locking operation is performed by a single-piece bail, and the releasing operation by a single key-lever, the

. parts being very much reduced and the mechanism being durable and not liable'to get out of order and readily accessible and removable without even taking out the screws.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure l is a fragmentary perspective view of an Underwood typewriting machine having my invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is an operational view, showing a fragmentary elevation, broken away in part, of forward portions of key-levers and parts of my key-locking mechanism.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation, broken away in part, of the forward end portions of key-levers, showing my keylocking mechanism in effective position thereunder to prevent the operation of the keys.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary front elevation of the structure shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary front elevation of the structure shown in Figure 3, the looking bail of my invention being shown as removed from effective key-locking position by depression of a key-lock release key.

In an Underwood standard typewriting machine, types strike against a platen 11 mounted on a shaft, not snown, which is journaled in a platen-carriage 12, the latter being mounted for lateral movement on a,

carriage-rail 13 by instrumentalities including a roller 14 which runs on the rail 13,

which is mounted in a main frame 16. For swinging thetypes 1O upward against the platen 11, keys 1'? supported on key-levers 18 are depressed. Each key-lever 18 is pivoted about a fulcrum l9 and is connected by instrun "'1t2-.lltlGS, not shown, to a type bar 20. As they keys are depressed, the platen 11 is letter-spaced by instrun'ientalities including a rack 21 and a pinion 22.

The parts described above, except the key levers 18, may be of the same construction as like iarts in an Underwood standard typewritin machine. The key-levers 18 may be constructed like those in an Underwood typewriting machine, except that each key lever has a short locking finger or lug 25 extending downwardly and rearwardly, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, instead of a usual upwardly-extending locking finger.

When the carriage 12 approaches the end of its leftward travel, it engages a usual margin stop or page, generally designated as 26, and mounted on a rack 27, which is revolubly mounted to swing about a usual rod 23 fixed in the main frame 16 in front of the rack.

A spring 29 coiled around the rod 28 adjacent the left end is arranged to hold the rack 27 in upper normal position, which position is determined by means hereinafter described. To the rack 27 is fastened a downwardly-extending arm 30. A tappet. 31 fastened on the carriage 12, engages a usual compound cam 32 mounted on the stop 26 as the carriage moves to the left, and the rack 2? is swung down and the arm is swung forward from its rearmost position. To the lower end of arm is mounted a trip member 33 for engaging a cam 34 formed on the forward end of a rearwardly-extending pivoted arm 35 to whose rear end is fastened a hammer 36 for striking a usual bell. 37.

The margin-stop 26, rack 27 and. arm 35 may be of usual construction. The arm 30 and the parts attached thereto may be of.

usual construction, except that a short rearwardly-eiztending integral lug 38 is added adjacent its lower end for abutting against the main frame to stop the arm 30 and the rack 27 in normal starting position, and a rightwardly-extending cam-member, designated as 37, in my above-mentioned Patent No. 1,428,386, is omitted.

For mounting the key-locking instrument talities of my invention, right and left mounting brackets 40 and 41, respectively, are each rastened on a front corner-post of the main frame 16 by means of screw l-2'and an end portion 43 of each bracket. Each end portion 43 is bent at right angles to a bodyportion 43 and engages closely against an edge of the adjacent corner-post of the main frame, the body-portion being held squarely against the corner-post. The bracket 40 a rearwardly-exten ding arm 44. To the arm 44- is riveted an i-nreaching shoulder stud or gudgeon 45. isriveted a shoulder-gudgeon 47 which, for

the gudgeon and rearward extension 48 havinga lug 49.-

For locking the key-levers 18 against depression, a single member is provided in the form of a bail, generally designated as 50, p

and hasa body-portion 51 extending crosswiseunder the key-levers '18 and right and left upreaching arms 52 and 53, respectively. An upwardly-extending flange. 54 is integrally joined to the body-member '51 at right angles thereto, the body-member. The arm 52 is perforate at its upper end for hinging upon the gudgeon 45. The arm 53 is perforated at its upper end for hinging upon the gudgeon 47.

A spring 55 is coiled about'the g'udgeon and has one end hooked under the arm 44 and the other end around the front edge of the arm 52. The spring 55 is tensioned to urge the-bail rearwardly, with the arm 53 pressing against the lug 49 (see Figure .2) In this position of the bail, the top edge of the stiff flange 54 is disposed to the rear of the row of fingers 25 and slightly below the plane of their lower ends.

The arm 30 is swung forward by the carriage, and the arm 35 is first cammed up in the usual way, and is then released, which permits the hammer 36 to fall and strike the bell 37. The remaining forward movement of the arm 30 causes a projecting pin 57 of the trip member 33 to come against a leftwardly-extending integral flange 58 on the arm 53, and swing the locking bail 50- forward until the flange 54 is under thefingers 25, to lock the keys, as illustrated in Figure 3. The operator will. then strike a key-lock release key 60, which is mounted on a key-lever key-lever 61. The key 60 is tioned at the right edge of the keyboard in the key-levers 18, except 25 is provided on the preferably posi 61, which may be like that no locking finger top bank of keys. As the lever 61 moves down, it is securely guided by teeth 62 of a usual comb 63, mounted by screws 64 on the frame 16.

An-upreaching cam 65 is integrally joined tothe flange 54 and is positioned under the lever 61. The work edge of the cam 65 is shaped so that wh n engaged by the descending lever 61, the cam and the entire bail 50 are moved to the right until the flange 58 clears the pin 57. The torsional force of the spring 55 then swings the entire bail 50 rearwardly until stopped by the arm 53 striking the lug 49.

The spring 55 also serves as a compression spring (see Figures 4 and 5), and when the key 60 has been released, the spring will push the bail leftwardly to its normal position,

To an arm 46 of the bracket 41 'ing the bail 50.

and also serves to strengthen d arm'52 may be slightly larger than the gudwound so as to" wherezin the flange 58' is directly behindthe pin5 v The construction of the trip-member 33 reasons presently to appear, is shorter than permits the pin 57 to'ride' over the top of 45. The arm 46 has a downward the flange 58 and snap down behind it. The locking bail 50 and the pin 57. are now in their normal positions.

- It is a feature of the present invention to 50 in the typewriting machine without tools, and for removing it in like manner when desired, both the mounting and removing operations being done without straining or ben To accomplish this desirable end, the aperture in. the upper. end of the the arms 52 and 53 plus the overalllengthof the coiled" spring 55 when it is fully compressed. J

The above-described construction 7. of the arms 52 "and 53, the gudgeons 45 and 47,

1 and the spring 55 permits the bail 50 to be mounted without tools or removing any parts. To do this, the spring 55 is first placed upon the gudgeona45 and its lnner end hooked. around the arm 44. The arm 52 is then placed on the gudgeon 45and slipped rightward until the arm geon 47. .Then by simply. moving'the bail 50 to the left, the arm 53 slipsinto place upon the gudgeon 47. The spring 55 may be hooked around the arm 52 and the bail is ready for use. ,1 v 1 Variations may be' resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be usedwithout others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1., In a typewriting machine having a main frame and depressible key-levers,the combination of pendent lugs'on said levers, a

transverse locking bail beneath the key-levers,

gudgeons on'which' said locking bail may be movedlengthwise; means for operating said locking bail, key-operated means including a cam on said lockingbail, for moving it lengtheralmovement of said bail to a disengaging rovide means for mounting thelocking bail than thegudgeon 45, and the Q 53 reachesthe end of the gud position wherein said bail is released from engagement by said operating mechanism, said nio-unting means for said bail including two inreaching gudgeons fastened on said machine, one on each side of said machine, and two upreaching apertured arms on said bail, one at each side of said key-levers, one of said apertured arms engaging over one of said gudgeons and the other of said apertured arms engaging over the other of said gudgeons, said arms each d isposed on its associated gudgeon a distance from the inner end thereof exceeding the lateral movement required for said bail to be disengaged from said operating mechanism.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination-with a system of key-levers having pendent lugs, of a keylocking device in the form of a bail formed of a transverse rod and arms rising from its ends, the frame of the machine having'internal gudgeons where on thearms are detachably hinged, whereby the bail may be dropped from below the keylevers or lifted into place under the key-levers and caught uponsaid gudgeons, key-operated means including a cam on said bail for moving it lengthwise, to release the same, and a spring for moving said bail both about its pivots and lengthwise, to restore it to normal position.

4. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a system of key-levers having pendent lugs, of a key-locking device in the form of a bail formedof a transverse rod and arms rising from its ends, the frame of the machine having internal gudgeons whereon the arms are detachably hinged, whereby the bail may be dropped from below the keylevers or lifted into place under the keylevers and caught upon said gudgeonsysaid machine having a. carriage-operated arm directly engageable with one of the bail-arms to swing the bail beneath said key-lever lugs v to lock the keys; said bail being shiftable endwise upon said gudgeons to release itfrom thecarriage-operated arm to release the keys, at will.

:5. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a system of key-levers having pendent lugs, of a key-locking device in the form of a bail formed of a transverse rod and arms rising from its ends, the frame of the machine having internal gudgeons whereon the arms are detachably hinged, whereby the bail may be dropped from below the keylevers or lifted into place under the keylevers and caught upon said gudgeons; said machine having a carriage-operated arm directly engageablewith one of the bail-arms to swing the bail beneath saidkey-lever lugs to lock the keys; said bail being shiftable endwise upon said gudgeons to release it from the carriage-operated arm to release the keys, at will; said bail being capable of further movement upon the gudgeons to withdraw one arm from one gudgeon and permitgeon, in removing the hail from the machine,

6. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a system of key-levers having pendent lugs, of a key-locking device in the form of a bail formed of a transverse rod and arms rising from itsends, the frame of the machine having internal gudgeons whereon the arms are detachably hinged, whereby the bail may be dropped from below the key levers or lifted into place under the key-levers and caught upon said gudgeons, said machine having a carriage-operated arm directly engageable with one of the bail-arms to swing the bail beneath said key-lever lugs to lock the keys, a release key mounted alongthe side of the system of key-levers, a camming tongue formed upon said locking bail and engageable by said release key to shift the bail endwise upon its gudgeons to release it from the carriage-operated arm,'and a spring to return the bail endwise to normal position.

WILLIAM F. HELMOND. 

